Prince Bettliegend (songs from the play)

Prince Bettliegend satirized certain aspects of life in the ghetto. Bettliegend, literally “bedridden,” indicated a person who, having been prescribed bed rest due to illness, did not have to work. Such an official designation could also exempt a prisoner from outgoing transports. Terezín/Theresienstadt doctors sometimes assigned this designation even to a healthy prisoner in order to protect a friend or family member or in return for a bribe. Lustig wrote Prince Bettliegend as a satirical fairy tale to criticize this kind of favoritism and corruption.